Public servants are usually paid less than the private sector for more senior positions. The salaries for MPs is a lot less than most successful business people of the same calibre.

It doesn’t matter what people on here earn, that’s just a straw poll and not related to whether MPs are overpaid or not. I think the issue is that people on less than MPs ignore the transparency of MPs pay and (now) expenses. If you feel irritated that your local MP earns more than you it might be just because you actually have that information available to you. Most people don’t really know how much their dentist/GP/local shop owner earn and therefore treat them normally.

I may be wrong, but I have the suspicion that there is some shortage of information about London professional salaries going on here. We had this discussion the other week when Stoner and Rubedoy discussed how much one needed to live on in London. Simple fact is that for anyone in management, consultancy, finance, big law, accountancy, property etc etc etc doing 60 hours a week in London £63k is not a large salary, and while it provides a nice standard of living it does not leave a lot spare to buy a private jet or many midget strippers with trays of cocaine on their heads.

Those of us earning that kind of money are fully aware that it is a lot, but we are generally comparing what MPs do with what we do and suspecting that they do more and are overall rather better value.

it is about 3 x the national average and a hell of a lot more than the minimum wage.
A hell of a lot of them dont need any wage (rich feckers and landed titles on both sides)
Many have a (well paid)second job as well to (oh the irony) keep them involved with the real world and grounded.
Surely if you represent the people better you live in a similiar style to them?I say give them all a council house in London and in their constituency and see if that changes their view of things
I would prefer to pay nurses, firefighters, teachers, cleaners more money than MP’s who seem to be so used to their high wages they actually think they deserve about £100,000 K a year whilst preaching to us about living modestly.

Shall we recall briefly that the purpose of paying MPs anything was so that people who were not independently wealthy could be MPs?

It has gone a bit wrong, clearly, but if you stopped paying the chaps, or paid them minimum wage, you’d presumably end up with people running the country who were basically funded by family wealth. At which point we’d be furious that they were not “people like us”. Or, alternatively, you’d have the country run by people who fancied a change from cleaning floors. That might work fine, but it would certainly be a major change in the way we are governed. 🙂

I earn less than the MP’s expenses, and am on about the national average. With all the bankers earning less expect the national average to fall as well.

They are on a lot of money and whilst a few may be worth it most are no more than sheep and do as they are told by their party leaders. They have no interest in their constituents, the people who pay their wages. The problem with first past the post is that most people have no ability to affect the outcome of the General election, and less so with a little tactical gerrymandering of boundaries.

maybe just paying them a wage and not expecting them to screw the system for every penny of expenses they could get might help our perception of them. MPs get paid £x. That’s in the public domain and if anyone disagrees they can run for paliament themselves or vote for the party that says they’ll change it. And if anyone wants to watch mainstream porn, that’s their business. Instead of this we have the Jacqui Smith story, where she was staying in the London flat, because she has to stay there so manty nights for it to qualify as her “main home”, leaving hubby in the family home, which we pay for because it’s not the “main home”, it’s the “constituency home”, and for some reson we pick up the tab for the cable tv in the second home, even if it’s being watched by someone whose not the expense claimant, and it’s 100% of the bill even though, by definition as the second home, the claimant will not be there 100% of the time. All of which is apparently within the rules, but just looks dodgy (without bringing up the subject of the porn).
Given that we seem to have on the most astoundingly inept governments of modern, if not all, times,a nd we have them by default because the oppostion are so rubbish they can’t even mount a credible challenge to a government as pi55 poor as the one we have, is it suprising there’s such a negative view of all MPs.
It has been said that Alex Salmond’s first action as Scottish First Minister was to write to Tony Blair and Calamity Broon
“Dear Tony/ Gordon, Thanks for your help. Couldn’t have done it without you. Cheers, Alex”

Doesn’t matter what they earn, they are still politicians which means they are guilty of dishonest practices, as bribery, lacking integrity, crooked, debased in character, depraved, perverted, wicked, evil and corrupt. False, untrustworthy. DISHONEST, VENAL, without regard to honor, right, or justice. lacking native integrity & totally debased as to sell patronage. They are contaminated, putrescent, rotten and spoiled.

It also means they are inclined to touch animals inappropriately, stroking camels and tasting the fruits of their labors.

I think you’ll find that 63k + 30k is only the tip of the iceberg. I know that my company, just a relatively small local business, employ an MP as a director, although he has never been to the office. I am sure he recieves contributions from a number of other businesses as well. Its called ‘commerce’ I believe.

MP’s salary in France (gross)
6.952,91 €
They can claim 6.278 per month in expenses, have a bursary of 8.949€ per month to hire someone and have free access to the whole railway network in 1st class and free taxis in Paris…

Minimum wage is under 1000€ per month (not gross but before taxes). For example I don’t even earn 1800€ per month, and that is having the highest qualification one can have.

porterclough – Member
I don’t earn anything like an MP’s salary, as I suspect is the case for 90% of the people here. I’d love to know what people do to earn these megabucks, you can’t all be doctors or CEOs..

I have a Ph.D. (so not a proper Dr then :wink:) and work in the oil industry. And i’m not the CEO either – he earns a lot more than me!